On the Mend
by Vargras
Summary: Weakened and injured after a wave, Naofumi finds the tables suddenly turned on him, from caregiver to patient.


_Drip. Drip. Drip._

It was a maddening sound, one he had heard for hours on end now, and one he could simply do nothing about. He moved an arm out from beneath his sheet, silently remarking on how _weak_ it felt as he tried to fumble for the source of that horrid noise.

_Drip. Drip._

Naofumi paused, stopped mid-motion by the sight of his own forearm. Almost every inch of it looked blackened and bruised - no, _burned_. That… didn't seem right, though. _When did that happen?_ He tried to play back the events in his head again, tried to figure out what had even occurred to leave him lying in a bed in who-knows-where. He had unlocked a new shield in the middle of a wave, a soul eater had shown up, and-

_Drip._

He drew a blank. Something about that made him angrier than he expected, and he could already feel himself begin to grind his teeth in agitation when another noise briefly startled him. There were footsteps outside his periphery, and even when he turned his head, he couldn't quite locate it.

And then there was a hand upon his forehead. "Oh, good! You're finally awake! I was getting a little worried there."

"W...Worried?" He… recognized this touch, as odd as it seemed. There was only one other who had ever been so gentle with him, and he turned towards the sound of the voice, staring with unfocused eyes. "Raphtalia, where… the wave, did we-"

"You're safe now, Naofumi-sama. The village mayor was kind enough to allow us to stay here while you recover." She had evidently brought a small wash basin with herself, as she dipped a cloth into it and wrung it out, gently placing it upon his forehead. "I don't know what you did to yourself, but… you collapsed right at the very end of the wave."

"I… did?"

"_Yes, you did." _Raphtalia huffed, already tucking back part of the sheet to check on his wounds. "I know you've collapsed before, but I've never seen you knocked out for _this_ long. It… scared me quite badly, if I'm being honest."

"Sorry."

"I wasn't sure when you might wake up again. _If_ you might wake up again. You've been out for a few days now, and I've been staying with you every night to take care of you, and I just… didn't know if..."

"...Sorry."

"Yes, well. I'll believe it so long as you make sure it _doesn't_ happen again. Now hold still."

With a slight grumble, and more than a little shame at the predicament he had put her in, Naofumi simply did as he was told, lying still upon the bed whilst Raphtalia changed his bandages. As each one was removed, he could feel her fingers lightly upon him, slight tuts of disappointment or frets of disapproval as she appraised his condition. It all seemed rather relaxing, until he heard-and felt-the first sizzle of a holy water-soaked bandage upon his skin, causing him to hiss through his teeth.

"Naofumi-sama! I'm not… hurting you, am I?"

"No, it's… it's fine." Pushing through the pain somewhat, he turned towards her again. "So… a curse?"

"A powerful one, not unlike your Rage Shield."

He sighed, willing his muscles to relax somewhat as she continued her work. "Self-inflicted, then."

"Yes. I'm just not sure _how_. The curse has always been transferred to others, and yet Filo and I didn't get it at all." Another bandage dipped in the holy water, and she scowled somewhat as she wrapped it around his bicep. "It's _only_ on you."

"Hrm."

A few stray pieces of linen fell to the floor as she tied off part of her work. "Naofumi-sama, could you sit up for me, please? I still need to change the rest of your bandages."

"Erm, yeah, sure." Doing as instructed, he slowly attempted to sit upright, wincing and clutching at his stomach as he did. He was in more pain than he'd probably be willing to admit, and now his curiosity was starting to get the better of him as he felt Raphtalia start to work the bandages around his torso loose. "How bad is it?"

"Extensive."

"...And what's 'extensive', exactly?"

She huffed a bit, as she pulled one scrap of linen free and threw it into the ever-growing pile. "Both arms. Your entire torso, front and back. It's also on your neck a bit."

_Yeah, I'd definitely call that extensive._ "Damn."

"I know you're supposed to protect both me and Filo, but this is a little ridiculous… if not _slightly_ hypocritical of you." With the last of the bandages clear and out of the way, she began her work anew, ears flattened firmly against her head each and every time she heard him hiss or watched his back tense from the pain. "I'm very sorry for hurting you, Naofumi-sama, but this has to be done."

"I know, I'm not holding it against you or anything. Do what you have to." Another quick flash of pain forced him to grit his teeth, and he glanced over his shoulder at her. "What do you mean by 'hypocritical' anyways?"

"Well, you're always telling me to be careful and to not act so recklessly, always telling me that I'm lucky it won't leave a scar when I _do_ get hurt. And then you go and do this." She passed the roll of linen around to his chest, briefly fumbling and placing a hand upon his bare skin instead, drawing a quiet 'eep' out of her until he dropped the roll back into her hand. "T-Thank you. I don't like seeing you get hurt just as much as you don't like seeing _me_ get hurt. So… please be more careful?"

"It's my _job_ to keep you safe, Raphtalia."

"And you can still do it, just without doing something as stupid as what you did!" She sighed deeply, enough so that her breath brushed against his skin, her voice much softer as she made another pass with the bandages. "...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

Chewing on his lip, he mused on it somewhat, mulled it over… and agreed with the assessment. "No, you're right. It _was_ stupid of me to make a move like that. If the wave hadn't ended and I had passed out like that, I wouldn't have been able to protect you and Filo. It was my own damn fault for trying to experiment with a new shield in the middle of a wave."

"...a new shield?"

It was starting to come back to him now. Mid-fight, he had managed to unlock a completely new shield series, and he could practically still picture the readouts in his mind's eye.

[Vigilant Series] Requirements Met - [Sanguine Shield] Unlocked. Skill: Redirection.

The skills had always been notoriously vague on their descriptions, so he had decided he would simply use the new shield and see what it even did. His initial impression had been that it had been laughably weak, as it had no perceivable difference, but… then the soul eater had shown up, and he had switched to the Rage Shield while the skill was still in effect, and…

"Yeah, that'd do it. Raphtalia, I… ended up with a new shield skill during the wave. Any damage or status effects taken by you and Filo were instead redirected to me. I didn't think anything of it at the time, because I simply wasn't taking any damage…"

"...but then you used the Rage Shield, and transferred the curse effects meant for me and Filo to _yourself_." Groaning somewhat, the demihuman leaned forward against him, resting her forehead against his back. "Naofumi-sama… why would you do something like that?"

"Equal parts negligence and good intentions."

"_Clearly."_

The way she sounded though, something was on her mind. "...You're upset, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am!" One bandage was promptly tied rather roughly, her irritation making itself _quite_ clear. "How could you be so reckless, letting yourself take on _that_ many curses on your own? Did I not tell you that I'd stand with you through fire and brimstone? That I'd bear any burden with you and never leave your side?"

"You did."

"Then _why?!_ Why do something like that, when you _know_ how badly it can hurt you? When you _know_ that I'm willing to shoulder it with you?"

"Because, I…" Shoulders slumping, Naofumi simply sighed and hung his head. "...I don't like the idea of you being in pain because of me. The only one who should bear the consequences of using the Rage Shield is me, and me alone."

Another bandage hastily wrapped, and tied tightly enough to draw another sharp hiss out of him. "And what if it kills you?! What then?"

Laughing dryly, he tossed a glance over his shoulder at her. "I'm not planning on dying any time soon, don't worry."

"Good." The roll of linen passed around his torso one last time, and she made sure to carefully tie this one off compared to the last. Her task complete for the time being, she threw both her arms around him, lightly hugging him. "...I need you, Naofumi-sama."

"I'm sure you'd manage just fine without me."

A faint growl of disapproval, muffled by her face pressed against his back. "I'd rather not."

"Yeah, well…" Thoughtlessly, he dropped a hand to his stomach, lightly placing it over one of hers. "You and me both. Say, where's Filo at anyways?"

"Fetching more holy water for a certain someone."

"Hopefully without burning through all of our coin?"

"I make no guarantees, Naofumi-sama." Lightly giggling, her hug on him tightened somewhat. "Much as you were willing to spend every bit of money you had on healing me, so too are Filo and I willing to do the same with you. You're simply too important to us."

"But… you don't _have_ money. You have _my_ money."

"_Our_ money. You wouldn't have earned it without our help, remember?"

Groaning, he lightly drummed his fingers upon the back of her hand. "That's fair, I guess. Raphtalia, could you… maybe let go now?"

He could feel her hair and face brushing against his back as she fervently shook her head. "No."

"No?"

"Just let me have this, please? Filo's away right now, and… I'll overtighten your bandages on your other arm if you don't."

"First you say 'please', then you follow it with a threat? Sheesh, twist my arm, why don't you."

"That's the idea…"

Still… this wasn't so bad. He gave his other arm a quick appraisal, noting the myriad of marks left behind by the curse, and couldn't help but think back to what she had said earlier. She had been watching over him and taking care of him for days now. It certainly wouldn't kill him to simply give her what she wanted. Though… he was pretty sure she had dozed off against him at this point. Her breathing had certainly slowed down a bit, and her own grip around him loosened, yet he had kept her hands firmly in place with his own. "Raphtalia?"

No response, save for the quiet murmuring of his own name, minus the honorifics. To hear her simply say 'Naofumi' felt odd, yet… good. Pleasing, even.

_This really wasn't so bad after all._


End file.
